1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus that include the acquisition of data, analysis of the collected data, and transmission of the collected data and/or analysis of the collected data to a destination by means known to a practitioner of ordinary skill in the art. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatuses that include collecting analog or digital sensor data onboard an aircraft, analyzing said data in real-time, and transmitting the data and/or analysis of the data to a destination including a portable storage device such as a portable computer or electronic flight bag (EFB) by means including wireless transmission. The application of this invention includes sensor data gathered from aircraft used in field of avionics such as aircraft or other data collection/generating devices such as medical apparatus. IR (infra-red) heat sensing sensors, or other devices whereas the invention is used to pre-process or post-process the collected information.
2. General Background of the Invention
In the normal operation of aircraft, pilots are typically required to carry flight bags that contain reference material such as aircraft operating manuals, flight-crew operating manuals, and navigational charts. In order to promote efficiency in flight management tasks and reduce the usage of paper, electronic information management devices such as EFBs have been employed by flight crews. Such EFBs allow for use of various applications including static applications such as document viewers, flight crew operating manuals, electronic approach charts, and multifunctional displays for systems such as navigational systems and air traffic control instructions. Furthermore, EFBs can include various means of data transmission including memory stick transfer and wireless connectivity.
Also, aircraft in general have onboard systems which communicate in real-time with systems on the ground during the course of a flight. Methods and apparatus directed towards such systems have patented. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,835,734 to Eckert et al. discloses an avionics system including a wireless router located on an aircraft and configured to transceive wireless signals; and a processing unit located in the aircraft and configured to supply the wireless router with configuration parameters after determining it is time to connect to a ground network, the configuration parameters based on the location of the aircraft; wherein the wireless router uses the configuration parameters to establish a wireless connection with the ground network and route data from at least one client application on the aircraft to at least one ground application server.
In view of the current state of art, current technologies related to electronic flight bags and real-time communications systems have yet to address the need for systems and apparatus that can efficiently collect, analyze, and transmit data recorded by an aircraft's sensors or other such sensors carried aboard or affixed to the aircraft. Such systems could aid commercial aircraft carriers in improving efficiency in delivery of their services to customers as applied to concerns or issues that include flight costs or flight crew performance. Also, such systems could provide vital data to administrative agencies regulating the field of avionics for various investigatory concerns such as efficiently determining the cause of an aircraft failure.
The following references are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,115,656; 6,181,990; 6,477,152; 6,788,935; 7,103,456; 7,149,612; 7,437,220; 7,456,756; 7,612,688; 7,769,501; 7,835,734; 7,908,042; 8,121,593; 8,244,412, 8,258,983; 8,316,225; 8,335,601; 8,433,475; and 8,768,534.
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PCT Publication Nos.: WO 20021079918 and WO 2011/017812.
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Simon Plass, Future Aeronautical Communications, InTech (2011), available at http://www.mxmuhammad.com/papers/Future_Aeronautical_Communications.pdf.
Kim et al., A Rapid QAR Data Acquisition and Visualization System for Aircraft Engine Maintenances. Proceedings of iiWAS2009 (2009).